Letters to the Editor
Asher Steinberg
Published Letters: 231 Editor's Choice: 12
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This Post Was So Delusional I Don't Know Where To Begin
[Read the article: The ornery pride of the political journalist]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]How did you ever practice law? You're telling me that
1) The right-wing establishment got scared of Obama.
2) So the right-wing noise machine started making noise that the media was in the tank for him because they were scared.
3) The media, previously unmoved by all of Hillary's complaints, suddenly felt guilty because they march to the drumbeat of the nefarious "GOP power establishment."
4) Driven to prove their fairness and balance to said power establishment, they dined in a bathroom. Previously they would've done no such thing.
Actually, what really happened was that the SNL skits and Hillary's comments about the pillow forced the media to address its undeniable pro-Obama bias. They couldn't very well ignore it after she brought it up in the middle of the debate. So now for the first time in the whole campaign, we're hearing some critical stories about Obama. Rezko's a real story, backchannel talks with the Canadians is a real story - all this coverage is totally deserved and if it were a Republican, it would be getting equal airplay. Where does the right-wing noise machine enter into this at all? Moving on...
"It's been said that the media reveres John McCain... but just behold all the great investigative reporting, all the reactive tension, all the aggressive scrutiny these claims have spawned."
Well yes, just behold it. The New York Times ran a huge unsubstantiated cover page story about how he might have had an affair with a lobbyist. You might have heard about it. Yes, there was some kernel of fact buried in all the innuendo and rehash of 25-year-old scandal, but is it really so remarkable that he wrote the FCC a letter in return for contributions? I don't think so. Then they talked about how he was born on a base in Panama for days when everyone knew it didn't have the slightest bearing on his eligibility. And they've totally misconstrued his "100 years" comment; all he really said was that, if hostilities ceased sometime soon, he'd be willing to leave a permanent base in Iraq like the one in Japan - not that he'd stay in a war for a hundred years or not withdraw troops for a hundred years. Nor would I say the media portrayal of him is all that kind - the general stereotype you get from the coverage is grumpy old hawk. At least in my opinion, anyway.
"After all, it's only been eight short years since the national press corps fell in love with then-candidate George W. Bush, depicted him as the swaggering, friendly, regular, down-home American male with whom you'd want to have a beer -- unlike that pompous, annoying, boring liar, Al Gore."
I'd have to say those were fair depictions. The media also made it abundantly clear that Gore was a lot brighter, more informed, better on the issues, but as for their personalities, Bush just is a friendly guy, regardless of how bad a President he may be, and Gore came off as pompous, annoying, and boring. Unfortunately, elections turn on these distinctions - see Kennedy and Nixon. If you spent that whole election year in a cave and only came out to see the debates, you would've been left with the same impression the media put out. When Gore wasn't delivering some interminable harangue about prescription drugs and lockboxes, he was scowling, rolling his eyes, or loudly sighing into his microphone at whatever Bush was saying. I remember it well. Bush would struggle through some desultory explanation of his drug plan, and then Gore would start quizzing the poor guy on all these details that George was too dense to remember. He sounded like a schoolteacher on amphetamines. And that's when he wasn't walking up to Bush in mid-answer to show off his would-be alpha maleness and height advantage. He just wasn't a likable campaigner. As for his honesty or lack thereof, I always felt the turning point in the election was when he told that ridiculous yarn about how his poor mother-in-law paid more for her prescription drugs than his dog. It may seem silly, but voters are more bothered if a candidate lies about his mother-in-law than if he lies about his opponent's plans to raise taxes. It just seems tacky.
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Actually, Shawn, Obama's Leading by 16
[Read the article: Obama wins Vermont]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]But, if he does underperform vis-a-vis his poll numbers, maybe it'll be a sign of things to come. Supposedly undecideds break towards Hillary a bit.
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Question
[Read the article: Some Ohio counties still voting, but networks call the state for McCain]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]How is Texas already reporting over 250,000 votes on CNN, and why are 60% of them for Obama? I thought they don't report for hours.
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Yeah, It's The Eastern Half
[Read the article: Some Ohio counties still voting, but networks call the state for McCain]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]And he's down to 55%. I still think they shouldn't disclose results until the whole state's done voting. A West Texan could see that number and get the wrong idea. I thought this was what the networks agreed on after the 2000 Florida debacle.
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Actually
[Read the article: Some Ohio counties still voting, but networks call the state for McCain]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You can see here exactly which counties are reporting, xranadu.
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/county/#TXDEMMAPprimary
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Right, But
[Read the article: Some Ohio counties still voting, but networks call the state for McCain]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think it's safe to say most of these little counties that haven't reported yet will go for Hillary, which could make up the deficit. Of course, a tie or even a razor-thin Hillary win will amount to a delegate win for Obama, due to the weird formula Texas uses.
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You Can't Trust What Voters Tell You About Race Anyway
[Read the article: Some Ohio counties still voting, but networks call the state for McCain]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]A lot of black voters who choose Obama because he's black, or white voters who choose Hillary because she's white, aren't going to come out and tell the pollster so. It may even be subconscious.
In other news, CNN's released their Texas exit polls, and they appear to indicate a split or even a slight edge for Hillary. Obama took men by six, but Hillary took women by 7, and women outnumbered men 4:3.
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Don't See A Brokered Convention In The Cards
[Read the article: Clinton wins Ohio]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I hope she wins, but even if she takes PA, she'd still trail by a substantial margin, or so I understand. Of course, Michigan and Florida are a huge x-factor in all this.